


of various challenge schtuffs

by punklobster



Category: citrus - サブロウタ | citrus - Saburouta
Genre: AU, Angst, Cheating, Comedy, F/F, Hurt/Comfort, Shenanigans, mish-mash of things
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-09
Updated: 2019-09-10
Packaged: 2020-10-13 02:22:03
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 8,652
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20574860
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/punklobster/pseuds/punklobster
Summary: ones-shots written for the 30day fic writing challenge of Doom





	1. #9 death of someone close

**Author's Note:**

> The following works were completed as part of the Yuri Garden discord server’s 30-day writing challenge! The other amazing participants from Lit Club, Sappho82, d_wolpertinger, and Ja55, made this sometimes grueling challenge a great experience! Check out their works as well in the collection!

Yuzu’s name was still written on the nameplate by the apartment door. The breath in Harumi’s throat caught upon seeing the loopy handwriting that was Yuzu’s signature, alongside her mother’s name and… Mei’s. 

After much internal deliberation, Harumi eventually found herself pacing restlessly in front of Yuzu’s door. Or rather, the place Yuzu used to live in before-- Harumi had to take a moment to prepare herself for her own thoughts-- Before the accident that took her life.

“Damn it,” Harumi muttered under her breath as she quickly wiped at her stinging eyes. Sometimes it felt like she had finally run out of tears, and then she would see something or hear something that’d remind her of Yuzu and her emotions threatened to suffocate her. Just yesterday she had sat down to eat and then she remembered the time Yuzu accidentally spilled an entire ice cream sundae on herself. Harumi had laughed so hard at her expense that day--

Harumi slapped a hand over her mouth, stifling a sudden sob. “I can’t do this,” she whispered into her trembling hand, turning her back and walking away from the door. She could barely contain herself, how on earth was she supposed to confront her dead best friend’s sister? 

One of the hardest parts about losing a friend, Harumi discovered, was returning to school and seeing everyone moving on with their lives. It was as if Yuzuchi had never been there, had never stumbled in as a shock of color and became the first genuine friend Harumi ever had. Her fellow classmates gave her a wide berth as if she would snap at any moment, and with damn good reason. Anytime she saw someone smiling or laughing, she felt an irrational hate poke at her with a hot stick. Every time she saw that particular empty desk she either wanted to grab someone and remind them of the girl who used to sit there or just burst into tears. Her entire head hurt from the effort of resisting those urges and constantly clenching her jaw to hold it all in. 

Hard times like these made her pull out her phone, made her instinctively text Yuzu to tell her about how much her day sucked and it was all Yuzu’s fault. Texts that would never get a reply now, and after doing that a few times she very nearly smashed her phone against the nearest wall before texting an apology. 

Her phone informed her that none of her messages had been read. 

She didn’t think she could possibly feel any more isolated in the world until she noticed Nene crying into her lunch instead of eating it, or Matsuri skipping classes to sit on the roof. Seeing her friends suffer made Harumi straighten up and roll up her sleeves. She made sure Nene ate her food and dragged Matsuri back to class. Giving everyone else a push forward gave her something to do, but bizarrely she felt as if her own life was at a standstill and wondered why.

That was when she noticed Mei could still sit up straight in her seat. The student council president continued taking notes in class. She continued reprimanding students in the hallways, in fact with more frequency than ever. Harumin observed the other girl in utter disbelief. Surely, Yuzu’s death affected her too? She searched desperately for a trace of solidarity, but Mei seemed to ignore her existence completely. 

It hurt. Harumi was certain Yuzu had been in love with this girl, and she couldn’t even be bothered to grieve her stepsister? The person who was the center of Yuzu’s universe could still raise her hand and ask a question about the lesson? Harumi could barely comprehend the words on the chalkboard. She just couldn’t wrap her mind around it. And over time it infuriated her more and more to the point she would spend class glaring at the back of Mei’s head. How cold could one person possibly be? 

Despite all her better judgment to distance herself, Harumi couldn’t help the impulse of trying to reach out. Maybe she was desperate to connect with someone else who had been close to Yuzuchi, or maybe she was stupid with grief. Or maybe it was Matsuri’s text goading her to do it, her messages having taken on an edge of cruelty in Yuzu’s absence. Either way, one day Harumi caught the student council president striding past her in the hallway and decided to follow her.

“Hey, prez.” She almost missed Mei’s tiny flinch at her greeting, falter in her stride stuttering her movement for only a moment before she continued walking.

“What is it?” Mei asked tersely without even looking at her. Harumi bristled as she easily matched strides with her. Her attitude used to be able to resist other people’s animosity, like water off a duck’s back, but these days her anger always seemed to be simmering under the surface ready to erupt. Especially at Mei’s attitude when Yuzu was in the damn ground--

“I was just hoping we could talk.” 

“I’m a very busy person, Ms. Taniguchi. Any inquiries you have can be directed towards a teacher.” 

Ignoring a very clear dismissal of her, Harumi stubbornly persisted. “I was thinking the class could hold some sort of memorial for Yu-”

“No,” Mei sharply cut her off. “We don’t need a distraction from our studies.”

The statement struck Harumi like an unexpected gut punch. “Are you serious?”

Mei wasn’t looking at her. She just kept going like she was above it all and Harumi not only saw red, she drowned in it. “A memorial isn’t a damn distraction, how could you even say that about Yuzuchi? Was that all she was to you?”

Mei stopped walking so suddenly Harumi nearly bumped into her. “Could you please not say her name?” 

“What?” 

Mei finally turned her head but avoided eye contact by staring over Harumi’s shoulder. Her gaze looked lifeless and heavy with fatigue. “Just stop.” 

The skin around Harumi’s neck was hot with the vitriol she spat. “You’re unbelievable. Was it easy for you to move on? After Yuzu cared about you so much?”

She could actually see Mei shutting down. Whatever sign of life she had in her eyes dimmed further and her fists unclenched themselves to hang limply at her sides. Harumin must’ve gone mad because she actually wished Mei would look more hurt. That she’d express fucking SOMETHING! 

“We’re done here.” With that Mei turned crisply on her heel and stalked away. 

“Hey!” Harumi yelled after her, blood boiling. “Are you just going to pretend that she didn’t fucking exist?” Harumi almost couldn’t believe her eyes when Mei sped up, practically running away from her. “She deserves better than that!” 

She nearly didn’t notice that she was barreling over Himeko, who she was surprised to find struggling to hold her back. The small girl gave her a pleading look to leave Mei alone. Shaking, Harumi stepped back. She angrily wiped tears from her face and stormed the opposite direction, pushing through staring classmates. Mei made her feel even more miserably alone and she  _ hated  _ her for it. 

The day after that Mei didn’t show up to school. Or the day after that, nor the day after. For an entire week.

‘Didn’t know she cared’ was Harumi’s spared bitter thought towards the student president. She tried not to pay it any mind since she was in the process of attempting to move on with her life... But dammit, she was bothered. Like something was bringing Mei’s name up in the back of her mind and pushing it to the forefront. She texted Yuzu: “you’ve infected me with your sister obsession.” 

She had never cared much for that particular Aihara, why should she now? 

“Because Yuzu-chan cared,” Matsuri said over their half-eaten lunch. They both seemed more interested in pushing the food around on their plates than actually eating. They shared more of an appetite for being equally miserable than eating. “Yuzu-chan cared a lot. She was a good person like that. Ignoring Mei would be like… Wasting Yuzu’s kindness,” Matsuri shared her theory with none of the smug satisfaction she usually carried with her. Just cold hard facts. “And you, Taniguchi-senpai, are too much of a mother to let it go.” 

“Will you come with me?” Harumi asked.

For the first time in days, Harumi saw Matsuri smirk slightly. But it was a smirk that sent chills of concern down her spine. “No way.”

“Why not? We’re all in the same boat here.”

“I won’t forgive her.” She stabbed her food with a fork. “If I see her, I might kill her.” Her smile was empty. “And that would definitely waste Yuzu’s kindness.” 

Their conversation haunted her. She tried to bat the thought away but it soon took over her head. Yuzu had cared about this girl so damn much. And if any part of Mei was human, she definitely cared about Yuzuchi. She couldn’t dismiss the possibility that Mei was just freakishly good at hiding her suffering to the point she devolved into robot-like behavior. 

The thought propelled Harumi to stand in front of what used to be Yuzu’s door now, fretting over what the hell she was supposed to say. Before she could chicken out and after she got her tears under control, she pounded on the door and waited. 

And waited. Probably a good minute or two went by as Harumi shuffled awkwardly in the hallway. Could it be that nobody was home? She had come all the way here, she didn’t feel like giving up now. She lingered another moment before she played a little game of ‘where would Yuzuchi hide a key?’. The game proved to be easy since she immediately found the key under a flowerpot that had a sun doodled on it. She couldn’t help but palm the key fondly. ‘Yuzuchi would definitely want me to sneak into her house right now,’ she reasoned rather reasonably. 

Light from the hallway spilled slowly into the dark apartment. Harumi wondered again if no one was home, but a dreadful curiosity pulled her further inside despite her doubt. As she removed her shoes she noticed another pair at the door; probably Mei’s. The place was a mess. Dishes were piled high in the sink and the trash hadn’t been taken out. It looked lived-in yet lifeless at the same time. Harumi quietly made her way through the house in fear of disturbing anything. The bedroom door was ajar and Harumi hesitated. This was seriously creeping her out. Goosebumps popped up along her arms from a sudden chill and before she knew it she was inside the bedroom as if she had been pushed by an invisible force.

She’d only been here once before.

_ “Wait… do you share this bed? With the prez?” Harumi had asked incredulously. “Yikes! That’s gotta be awkward!”  _

_Yuzu had laughed, scratching the back of her neck bashfully. “Heh, yeah it can be awkward sometimes… but it's actually not so bad!” _

Harumi was snapped out of her memory by movement in the corner of her vision. Startled out of her skin, Harumi yelped in fright and held her hands up in vague defense. What greeted her was a dark figure huddled next to a desk that Harumi thought was a ghost for a second before she focused her eyes. Sitting on the floor hugging her knees was Mei. She looked so small Harumi wouldn’t have realized she was there if she hadn’t raised her head to stare at Harumi with eyes that seemed hollow. 

“Jesus, prez,” Harumi hissed through her teeth. She kept her hands up, still spooked. “I didn’t think you were home so I let myself in-”

“What do you want?” A cracked whisper, like a ghost herself. Her arms tightened around her knees, curling into herself. “Yu… She’s- she’s not here, so...” she weakly croaked. Her eyes trailed away as if forgetting that Harumi was there already, trapped as she was in her own misery. The lump of utter resentment in Harumi’s chest she had built up towards Mei eased as she took in the sight before her. She had suspected something bad but this was worse than she had imagined. Harumi slowly approached her.

“Where’s your mom?” Harumi asked in a gentle voice. Mei’s exhausted eyes slowly shuttered at the question and Harumi wondered how long she had been like this. She looked pale and thin, and the bed didn’t look slept-in. 

Mei’s head shook a little. She still wasn’t looking at Harumi. After a few seconds, Harumi started to suspect that Mei hadn’t heard her at all until the other girl cleared her throat. “She went with my father. I told her I would stay with Grandfather.”

“But that was a lie,” Harumi easily concluded with a tired sigh. Taking her hands was like touching a corpse and Harumi tried to rub some warmth into them. Damn the maternal instincts that pulled her here. “Let's get you cleaned up for now, alright? Can you stand?”

“Leave,” Mei quietly demanded. Harumi easily ignored the weak command. She had never been that great at following student council orders anyway. Taking her hands, she attempted to lift the other girl to her feet.  _ “Go away!”  _ Mei’s voice cracked as it went up in volume. 

“Nice try, prez, but you’re stuck with me.” Her limbs were limp. It felt like if she pulled any harder, she’d pull her arms right off. 

“There’s no point,” Mei hissed, reddened eyes watering whatever liquid she had left inside her. “This is my punishment.”

“Oh shut up,” Harumi snapped at her. “As if Yuzu would ever blame you for anything. Now get your ass  _ up _ .” This time when Harumi tried to heft her up Mei put up a fight. but she was weak so it was like trying to wrestle a tall sleepy toddler. 

“Let me go!” Mei’ pushed at her shoulders, determined to rot away, it seemed.  _ “Please!” _

With a growl and a shove, Harumi tossed Mei onto that stupid double bed, but Mei’s grip on her shirt pulled her down as well, landing her in a pile of limbs. Being in the bed itself seemed to make Mei even more frantic, her streaming eyes flying wide as a scream bubbled in the back of her throat. She struggled, striking out at Harumi as she battled her demons. 

Panicked, Harumi gathered the other girl in her arms and held her tightly. “Mei,” she finally used the other girl's name, pleading with her to calm down. “You’re not alone, Mei, I promise,” she shushed in a soothing voice. By some miracle, it was working and Mei gradually stilled in her arms. With Mei’s face squished against her chest and her hand stroking through her hair, Mei’s exhaustion knocked her out hard. Her hand clutched limply at Harumi’s shirt as she snored softly against Harumi’s skin, and it was suddenly difficult to remember why she hated her so much. 

The next morning brought with it a shuffling pale figure poking its dark head out of the bedroom to peek at Harumi searching the kitchen cabinets for a bottle of syrup. 

“Hey,” she waved awkwardly as Mei emerged from her den and stared at her. “I’m not exactly a cook like Yuzuchi was, but I found some frozen waffles, so- aha!” she finally found a bottle of maple syrup and placed it on the counter next to some half warm waffles. “You need to eat something.” 

Mei glared at her as if she had a million things to say to Harumi. “Get the hell out” was at the forefront, Harumi imagined. But at least they were conveying some sort of emotion, so it was a start. Her stomach conveyed even greater emotion with a grumble that shook the walls of the apartment. Mei actually grew a little color on her pale face and Harumi pretended not to hear the sound. It took until Harumi turned away and pretended to clean the counter that Mei stiffly sat herself down and nibbled at a waffle. Harumi didn’t expect her to say anything, let alone the words that ended up coming from Mei’s mouth. 

“You smell like her,” Mei whispered. “Why?” 

Harumi blinked in surprise, turning back to Mei. “I- um… I started wearing her favorite perfume after…” she trailed off, not having the energy to finish the thought. 

“It helped me fall asleep,” Mei admitted, still in a dusky voice that was like a quiet morning in itself. “Thank you.” 

Harumi smiled warmly at that. “You’re welcome, Prez.”

“Now get out.”

“I don’t think I will.”

The following week, Mei stood at the front of the class early in the morning. She was still pale, but no longer translucent. When she announced in her clear student council president voice that the school would hold a special memorial service for Yuzu, Harumi placed her head down on the desk to hide her tears. The heavy weight on her shoulders was dispersing and it made them tremble with relief. 

“You sure had your work cut out for you, Yuzuchi,” she typed into her phone. Her finger hovered over the send key. 

  
  



	2. #10 door

A young Yuzu was focused on painting her toenails like da Vinci envisioned his next work of art. Nothing was more important at this moment than the perfection of her toenails. 

Two quick knocks on the door and her mother was leaning inside, sounding out of breath for some reason. “Hey sweetie, what do you want for dinner?” 

“Whatever you make is good, mama,” Yuzu murmured, nailing the details in her toenail painting. 

“Okay, cool. Oh, just wanted to let you know that I got married earlier today, so. That was a thing. Is omurice okay with you?” 

“Yeah, that sounds good.” 

“Good. Sounds like a plan!” The door clicked shut. Yuzu painted a long line of blue across all her toes as her head whipped around to the door. 

“Wait, what?”


	3. #11 interacting with family members

Yuzu was no sooner tiptoeing through the bedroom door just after midnight before she was jumped by her wife. Startled, but quickly matching the enthusiasm, Yuzu kissed her wife back. 

“Are the kids asleep?” Yuzu managed to ask as Mei made short work of the buttons on her shirt. Mei was already nodding rapidly, pushing Yuzu’s shirt over her shoulders and working on her pants already. Taking advantage of the miraculous fact that they managed to stay awake after their kids, Yuzu was quick to hoist Mei up by her thighs and stumble (quietly!) towards their bedroom before a toddler wandered into the hallway on a sleepy bathroom run. 

Mei already worked off her baby-food stained shirt before Yuzu could even dump her onto the mattress. “You need to hurry up so that I can fall asleep in the next twenty minutes to get enough rest for Anzu’s daycare tomorrow,” Mei explained as though sex was a vital part of her packed schedule. Which it was. 

“Twenty minutes?” Yuzu was hopping out of her pants and ripping them off. “But we haven’t had sex in a month!” 

“Do you want to make it two months?’ Mei asked with a cocked brow and a toss of her panties. 

“Dammit, Mei, Imma knock you out!” Yuzu jumped her wife, salivating at the mouth. 

Not two minutes after Yuzu had her first taste did the door fly open, making both mothers scramble to get under the covers. In the doorway was their oldest son of six years old, staring at them, and woefully wide awake. 

“Hikaru! What? What do you need, baby?” Yuzu practically shrieked, discreetly wiping her mouth. 

“I want McDonald's!” he declared very proudly.

“Baby, it's late, go back to bed please--”

“I. Want. McDonald's.” The kid looked way too knowing for his age and Yuzu wilted under his toddler confidence. She felt like she was being bribed!

“... What from McDonald's?” she asked, much to his delight. Mei sighed and rolled over to fall asleep. Yuzu was much too spoiling.


	4. #13 leathers

‘ _ Try it on! _ ’ she’d said. 

_ ‘Just for fun!’ _ she’d said. 

_ ‘Past Yuzu is a freaking idiot!’ _ Present Yuzu was thinking right about now because Future Yuzu was going to be in big trouble. 

“So what do you think?” Harumi asked, striking a sexy pose in none other than Mitsuko’s leather biker suit. “It fits better than I thought it would!” Indeed, the shiny material was clinging to her every curve and highlighting her prominent assets. 

Yuzu internally screamed thanks to the heavens and externally licked her lips in a quite distracted manner. “Y-Yeah, it looks pretty girl- pRETTY GOOD. GOOD, pretty good. Is it hot in here?” she stammered, pulling on her collar as she stared at Harumin’s collar. 

“It is a little hot.” Harumi pulled down the zipped of the leather suit all the way down to her navel, and this time a strangled noise did escape Yuzu’s throat. “You know, wearing this makes me want to ride something!”

Yuzu nodded like a wild bobblehead doll. She could definitely think of something Harumi could be riding. 

“I could think of something I could be riding right now.”

Yuzu wondered why Harumi was reading straight out of her brain but was distracted by the kill bill siren going off in her head when Harumi started to climb into her lap and her brain imploded. 


	5. #14 period piece

Mei felt as though she were already drowning while she stared at the churning waters of the Atlantic ocean below her. Drowning in expectations and the presence of her overbearing new fiance, whose ring sat so heavy on her hand that it would surely sink her straight to the bottom of the ocean floor should she jump in. 

Standing on the stern of this massive ship, the salty wind nipping at the exposed skin of her neck and collar bones, Mei was struck with the realization that no one would really care if she disappeared off this deck. Except maybe her fiance would be upset that he would have to inherit her fortune some other way. Maybe it was the spite, or the tightness of her corset causing her lightheadedness, or maybe she had finally had enough of slowly suffocating on her responsibilities… 

One way or another, she found herself climbing over the railing. Her mind curiously empty, the freezing air liberating in a way. The temperature of the water would surely kill her before she could drown, her analytical mind whispered to her. It would be quick. It would be better than this. If she had a choice in anything at all, she’d choose the icy embrace of this ocean over that man breathing into her ear one more time. 

“Oh-- oh my god, hey!” a stranger’s voice disturbed the calm haze Mei had found herself in. “Heyheyhey, whoa-- don’t do it,” breathless and concerned, a woman’s voice reached for her. Mei’s grip tightened on the railing and she glanced over her shoulder. “Please don’t do it, Miss!” 

“Don’t come any closer,” Mei warned the woman off. She hadn’t planned to have an audience, and the sight of the woman was a shock in itself. She was dressed in a vest and trousers, having already ripped the raggedy coat off her own shoulders just moments ago, as evidenced by the garment being carried away in the wind now. Messy blonde hair flew about a delicate face and green eyes, wide with fear and focused on her. What was it about this crisp Atlantic air that brought everything into startling clarity, Mei wondered. 

Despite the warning, the woman was already pulling off her boots in a hurry. It finally occurred to Mei that the mystery woman was preparing to jump in after her and her heart sank. The woman face planted trying to pry off a particularly tight boot, and it was Mei’s turn to be concerned about her so-called rescuer. 

The blonde recovered quickly, scrambling up, red-faced, and refocused on Mei, who was still perched on the wrong side of the ship’s railing, one step away from oblivion. Ripping her gaze away from the spectacle of the odd woman, Mei faced the calling ocean once more. “Don’t bother jumping in after me,” Mei tried once more to shake off the audience. “The water would just kill us both.” 

“That's too bad then,” the vest was the next thing to go from her person. She proceeded to push the suspenders off her shoulders. She was a bit closer now, slowly approaching Mei as she stripped. “My mama is waiting for me, but I think she’d kill me anyway if she found out I let someone give up their life right in front of me.”

“And what business is it of yours?” Mei, against her better judgment, engaged with the woman now standing within arm’s length. She made the mistake of looking at her again, only to find a kind face. 

“Miss, I don’t think you really want to do this,” she said.

Heat encroached the tips of Mei’s ears as her calm was taken over by annoyance. “How dare you to presume what it is I want to do, you don’t know me.” 

The woman winced at her misstep, grabbing the railing herself next to Mei’s grip. “You would have done so already if you really wanted to…” she ventured in a tentative voice. “I can’t even imagine the circumstances that would bring you to this point, but I promise there’s another way out.” She reached out slowly. “C’ mon, just give me your hand, I’ll pull you over.” 

Mei shook her head. “You’re absurd.”

The other woman managed a strained laugh at those words. “So I’ve been told! But with all due respect, Miss, I’m not the one hanging off the back of the ship.” 

Mei’s indignant look was icier than the depths she faced, but the blonde maintained eye contact, pleading. For some reason her presence this close was a warm one. Warm enough that Mei felt her blood singing through her veins again, and she realized that she was shaking. The outstretched hand beckoned her towards safety once again and Mei hesitantly reached her hand out to take it. She hadn’t realized she had been crying, but making contact with another human being was bringing all her senses back to her. Even her heartbeat felt livelier than ever, beating with the strength of the ship’s engine as their gazes remained locked together. The woman’s grip was strong and sure as she pulled her back around and encouraged her to climb back over the railing with a relieved smile. 

Mei took the step, and then she was falling-- her foot had slipped off the slippery railing. A scream escaped her when she plummeted for a split second before the grip on her hand stopped her descent. The blonde let out a shout of surprise when she found herself holding Mei’s entire weight. Her feet dangled over the suddenly hungry ocean reaching for her. 

“I’ve got you!” the woman yelled, straining as she gripped Mei’s forearm with unexpected strength. “C’ mon!” 

Mei’s head was flooded with fear, what she thought she wanted only moments ago was now a slip away from happening and it paralyzed her. 

“Hey! Look at me!” the woman yelled at her. Her face was clear with determination, even as she struggled. “I promise I won’t let go no matter what! Now c’ mon and pull yourself up!!” 

Her words compelled Mei to reach up to the railing, finding the strength within herself to climb up with the support of the stranger. “I’ve got you,” she continued to repeat as she pulled and Mei climbed. As she gathered her in her arms and pulled her over the railing at last and onto the hard deck floors. As Mei cried and shook with the shock and clung to her. Even still as footsteps thundered towards their direction and members of the Titanic’s crew pulled the blonde off of her. 


	6. #17 character shenanigans

"Oh my God. You made voodoo dolls."

"These are NOT voodoo dolls, and you said you wouldn't make fun of me!"

"I'm not! This is the best thing I've ever seen. In my life." Matsuri picked up one of the dolls Nene had made. It was obviously in Harumi's image judging by the extra padding carefully placed under the hand-sewn blouse. Nene picked up the obviously Yuzu doll. 

When Nene had invited her over to her house to play, somehow this was exactly what Matsuri was expecting and Nene didn't disappoint. 

"Harumin! I love you so much!” Doll Yuzu declared, arms high in the air. 

“I am pretty awesome. But not as awesome as tHESE” Matsuri ripped off the Harumi doll’s blouse. Nene threw Yuzu across the room with the force of doll Yuzu’s gay panic. Yuzu bounced off the wall and landed in a crippled position. Just like in real life. 

Once Nene lovingly picked up the doll and brushed off its head, they were back to business. 

“Let’s make love, Harumin!”

“Hell yeah!” The dolls smashed so hard that Harumi’s leg flew off. Tears streamed down Matsuri’s face from how much she was laughing on the inside. 

“I know, right?” Nene was also crying tears of joy. She got up and retrieved something from her closet. “But THEN,” Nene slammed down a large Mecha robot action figure right next to the two dolls. “The student council president arrived!” 

“Oh what the fuck,” Matsuri was losing it. 

“SUUUUUPER YUZU TO THE RESCUE!” Doll Yuzu flew at the mecha robot, only to be swatted away easily by the mecha student council president, making Yuzu’s head pop off in the process. Just like in real life. 

“I’ve gotta say, Nene, this is the weirdest foreplay I’ve ever done with a girl in my life.”

“What?”

“What?”


	7. #22 surprise

Yuzu’s hand hovered over the doorknob to her apartment for a long moment. When she grasped it, the door rattled on its hinges from the force of her shaking limb. She chewed on her lip before wrenching the door open, like ripping off a bandaid. 

“Mei, I-” Yuzu paused in stunned silence at the sight that greeted her within their shared apartment. Candlelight bathed the walls in soft romantic lighting. The strings of music played quietly out of a wireless speaker, and the smell of freshly cooked food filled her nose.

None of that compared to the sight of her wife, dressed elegantly in a way only she could pull off, standing by the entrance as though she had been waiting for Yuzu’s arrival. “Welcome home, Yuzu.” 

“Mei…” The blonde greeted, still absorbing everything. “What is all of this?” 

Mei approached Yuzu, taking her hand and pulling her inside. She didn’t comment on Yuzu’s trembling fingers. They had been avoiding each other for so long, the touch was a shock. 

“This is for you.” She gestured to the set table, food already spooned onto their plates and steaming hot. 

“I didn’t forget an anniversary or something, did I?” Yuzu tried to joke, but she grimaced at the possibility. 

Mei gently guided Yuzu into her seat, reassuring. “You didn’t forget anything,” she said, a thread of nervousness weaved into her calm voice. “I simply wanted to do something for you.” 

Yuzu stared at the table, willing herself not to cry. Mei must’ve come home earlier from work to set all of this up. The dinner, one of the recipes Yuzu had taught her diligently until Mei memorized it. It was thoughtful and lovely. “You didn’t have to--”

“Yes, I did,” Mei interjected softly, yet firm in conviction. She sat down opposite Yuzu, gathering herself. “After our last… argument, I realized something.” 

Yuzu was shaking her head, the swoop in her belly yawning wider the more Mei spoke. “Mei, I need to--”

“Let me finish,” Mei pushed. “You were right at that time. I haven’t been around as much as I should, and… I am sorry. I will be better because you deserve the best from me.” 

The tears Yuzu couldn’t hold back anymore. She covered her mouth with her hand to hold back a sob, and she felt Mei grasp her hand in an attempt to comfort her. 

“Is something wrong?” Mei sounded concerned, worried that it was something she had said or done. “Whatever it is, tell me.” Her hand squeezed Yuzu’s, rubbing her ring finger. “Whatever it is, we can get through it. Together.” 

“Mei--” Yuzu’s voice not only cracked but broke apart like a dropped glass. “I have to tell you something.” Yuzu lifted her eyes, red-rimmed from whatever was distressing her and lack of sleep. “L-last week, after our fight, I went to Harumin’s. And…” Yuzu took one last steadying breath and looked away, unable to maintain eye contact. “And we had sex.” 

Mei let go of Yuzu’s hand. The temperature of the room dropped several degrees colder, faster than their food cooled down. 

“It was a mistake. I was weak and angry, and I don’t know what I was thinking. I just can’t keep it from you any longer, its been killing me these last few days, I...” 

Yuzu heard Mei wordlessly gathering their full dishes. Dumped their contents into the trash bin.

“Mei, I am  _ so _ , so sorry,” Yuzu begged, falling apart at the seams. Her tears wouldn’t stop coming, but she still couldn’t look at her wife. Like a coward. She felt so small that the world could and should swallow her up, voice drowning out uselessly for all the good she was doing. 

She heard Mei turn on the sink and start rinsing the dishes. Silent as a graveyard. Yuzu didn’t know if this, or Mei screaming at her was more terrifying a thought. 

“Mei, please... say something. Anything.” 

A dish shattered against the floor, making Yuzu’s whole body and soul flinch. Hesitantly looking up to make sure her wife (if she was even allowed to call her that anymore) didn’t hurt herself. Mei stood among the broken pieces, her face curiously empty. Gone was the warmth from her frame. 

“Mei?”

Mei finally spoke, brusque and cold. “I think you should leave."


	8. #23 please

Harumi was no saint. Though sometimes she wondered if she was just based on her years of self-restraint alone. Just your friendly neighborhood best friend, Harumin! 

“Please,please,please-”

She wasn’t feeling very saintly right at this moment, not when her <strike>married</strike> best friend was begging her to fuck her-

“Please, Harumin,  _ please- _ ”

Nothing friendly about the way Harumi was pushing aside Yuzu’s underwear in her haste to fulfill the request, sinking her fingers into her wonderfully molten center. Harumi moaned in relief, breathless. She was probably more excited than Yuzu herself, keyed up from years of holding back, no more,  _ no more _ -

Fingers clutched at her shoulders, shuddering breath in her ear. “ _ Harumin _ ,” Yuzu breathed like she was saying her name for the first time. Like having Harumi’s fingers buried in her cunt was the catalyst Yuzu needed to realize that her best friend loved her more than a friend should. 

There was a moment of stillness as they both caught their breath and waited. Harumi waited for Yuzu to make her stop. And she would. Christ, she would- 

But then Yuzu was pulling her closer-  _ closer! _

The darker, not so friendly side of Harumi was overcome with the heady feeling of validation. She could’ve cried-

But she had a certain request to fulfill. 


	9. #24 father/daughter talk

The notion that compelled Mei to make this trip was one that grew into a need over time. This time she took the train alone, and it was just as unpleasant and stuffy as she remembered, except without the protection of Yuzu’s arms. She tried not to think about it and weathered the cramped quarters with the dignity of a girl about to take up the duties of her family. 

All that dignity evaporated as she stood before the gravestone of the father of the girl she had no right to love, and wondered what exactly her goal was with her wedding to her fiance looming so close. 

She started with what she knew; paying her respects to the dead with a bow and a quick prayer. After that was all trial and error. Yuzu had made it look so easy, talking to her father. Something Mei had no experience with, even while her father was still walking around somewhere on this plane. 

“I’d like to preface this visit by saying that I’m not sure why I’m here.” Taking stock in her surroundings to make sure no others were around the yard to disturb her, Mei decided to kneel on the downy grass before the grave. He had a good name, Yuzu’s father. 

“I suppose I’d like to thank you for everything so far. You played a role in helping me connect with my own father, which I am eternally grateful. For creating a wonderful daughter. For watching over her. And I hope you continue to do so, since…” Mei pushed a lock of hair behind an ear. Guilt had already made a feast of her, what was more thing to add to the list? “She’s going to need you now more than ever. 

“I hope you know she’s kept her promise from our last visit,” Mei whispered, sure either no one was listening, or the whole world could hear her. “She did protect me.” The back of her eyes gently stung even when she willed it not to. “Now it's my turn to protect her. From me.” Mei gracefully pushed herself back up to her feet. 

“I’d like to apologize as well.” She brushed her hand over the top of the tombstone, the sting behind her eyes spreading to her throat. “For being the one to break her heart.” 


	10. #25 re-imagining a scene from canon

“Mei, I know the chances to be with you are slim, but I refuse to give up!” Yuzu’s words, passionate and full of unfounded conviction, was nothing but another burden on Mei’s shoulders. 

“No matter what you say, my feelings won’t change,” Mei responded, exhausted from having run this scenario a million times in her head. Of course, a small part of her always wished Yuzu would swoop in and save her like a hero rescuing a princess in distress. Now that it was actually happening, the naive scenario was making her sick. Even out in the clear evening air on this massive empty balcony of her fiance's estate, Mei couldn’t seem to breathe properly. “Just… go home.”

“Mei… do you hate me now?” Yuzu’s question, spoken in a broken whisper, was snatched up by the wind and carried past Mei’s sensitive ears where her brain seized upon the words. Her hands clutched the balcony railing, and she wished she could fling herself off of it to get away from Yuzu. To have her show up after months of not having her, of being unable to have her, of  _ choosing  _ not to have her; it was simply maddening. 

What right did Yuzu have to cause this chaos in her heart? To be a tornado ripping up the foundations of her life until Mei didn't even know who she was anymore? All of a sudden hate made so much more sense. Mei did not cut ties with Yuzu over  _ nothing _ . Her reasons were not trivial or imagined, or easily magicked away because of feelings. Yuzu standing there behind her, proudly declaring that they could all be happy together was not only foolish, but it mocked all the months Mei had suffered to keep such feelings in check. 

The crumbling walls around Mei’s heart were cemented by a new emotion taking root. 

“Yes.” Mei turned around to finally face Yuzu. “I  _ hate  _ you.” 

Yuzu flinched back as though Mei physically slapped her. The contempt in Mei's voice was nothing but genuine. The cold gaze, the upward tilt of her chin that made Yuzu feel small. It reminded Yuzu of when they were strangers at odds with each other.

“You can’t possibly mean that,” Yuzu tried to push back. She had come so far!

“You’re idealistic, you do what you want without foresight,” Mei listed off, the tinge of anger in her voice sparking. “Do you have any idea the  _ lengths  _ I’ve had to go to separate myself from someone like  _ you _ ?” 

Mei did not take pleasure in the tears now streaming down Yuzu’s face. It had to be done. Their ties had to be severed, and if Mei had to plunge a dagger into Yuzu’s heart to get her to see the light, so be it. 

She walked past Yuzu towards the doors, eager to finally wash her hands of this messy, confusing and agonizing period of her life. “I hope I never see you again, Yuzu.” 

Yuzu whirled around, desperate. “What am I supposed to do now with you gone?!” she shouted, clutching at the fabric on her chest as fat tears flowed freely. “Mei!!” 

It was all so clear to Mei now. Yuzu just needed something in her life to make her feel like a hero. Mei’s suffering was nothing but a prop to Yuzu’s ego. Now that she had no one to protect, she was just a pathetic mess. 

Mei sighed as she slid the door open to her escape and stepped off the balcony. “I don’t care.”


	11. #28 relaxing

Harumin was ready for another night in. She had her sweet and salty snacks, and her Netflix account queue filled with sad romcoms that would surely make her cry. Having moved overseas, she found herself in another situation where she ended up blending into the crowds, going with the flow of life rather than making a big splash. It reminded her of her early high school days where she hid her true self away for self-preservation. 

The rabbit holes of her thoughts were all too easy to fall into, and she hastened her clicking through her queue choices. Her cell phone vibrated in the corner of her vision, and she took a glance at it, expecting a robocall or something of the sort. The name on the screen made her still blood rush 0-60 in .2 seconds. 

How odd it was, that even Yuzu’s name seemed to light up the room. Holding her breath, Harumin let it ring and ring. They haven’t spoken to each since Yuzu told her she had to tell Mei of their shooting star of an affair. When the call went to voicemail, Harumi released the breath she’d been holding. What on earth did Yuzu want from her? 

The second time the phone vibrated, Harumi jumped to answer it before the first ring even ended. “Yeah?” she sounded much too casual than her racing heart lead on. God, she really couldn’t help herself, could she? 

“... Harumin?” Yuzu sounded surprised that she’d picked up, and hearing her best friend’s voice after so long did more things to her heart than a million sad romcoms. “H-hey. How are you?” 

Harumi hugged her knees to her chest, cradling the phone against her face. “Why are you calling me, Yuzuchi?” 

Yuzu was quiet on the other end, and Harumi wished she could see her face. The blonde was so expressive she could never hide what she was thinking. The silence was foreign from her. 

“I…” Yuzu started, her voice hitching. “Mei, um. She wants a divorce, I…” Harumi’s heart sank at the wavering of Yuzu’s tone. “I, I don’t know what to do, Harumin…” 

“Yuzuchi,” Harumi interjected softly, her own eyes glistening. “I can tell you what you shouldn’t be doing.” 

“What?”

If they were together, Harumi would flick the blonde on the forehead. “You shouldn’t be calling your mistress, stuuuupid.” 

The line went quiet again, only filled with occasional hiccup from a clearly distressed Yuzu. “I hate this,” Yuzu murmured, her voice faint. 

“I know, Yuzuchi.”

“You're my best fucking friend, and I fucked that up too! Fuck!” Yuzu cursed, her roller coaster of emotions shooting her through anger.

“Phrasing.” 

“I lost the two most important people to me, and it’s all my fault. It's all my--” Yuzu was spiraling and Harumi couldn’t help reaching out. 

“Hey, hey, hey,” Harumi said in her best soothing Mama Harumin voice. “You plan on getting Mei back, right?” 

“Um… yes?” Yuzu responded hesitantly. Harumi raised her brows at that. 

“You wanna try that again?” Harumi prompted. 

The other side went quiet again, gathering herself. When Yuzu spoke next, it was with more of an edge. 

“Yes,” Yuzu breathed. “She’s my wife. I have to get her back.” 

“Then you know what to do, don’t you? Like, not come running back to the home wrecker for comfort?” Harumi chuckled humorlessly. 

Yuzu was quick to answer that. “Harumin, you know I don’t think of you like that.”

“But its what happened, right?” Harumi squeezed at her knees. 

“What happened was my fault! I’m the one who asked for it!” 

“I wanted it too.” 

“But-!”

“Yuzuchi!” Harumi interrupted more harshly. The last thing she needed right now was her kindness. It just made everything worse. The knowledge that even separated from her wife, Yuzu still choosing Mei was going to drive her up the walls in her isolation. She was at her rope’s end. Any attention Yuzu gave her a needle digging into the skin, tattooing anguish into her. “Please. Don’t call me again,” Harumi begged. 

The ensuing silence between them was like a black hole, swallowing their breaths. 

“I miss you,” Yuzu whispered so brokenly that Harumi couldn’t bear it any longer. She hung up the phone and tossed it away in favor of screaming into her pillow. Her weeks away from Yuzuchi, attempting to forget and relax undone with three damningly selfish words. 

“I miss you too, stuuuupid!” Harumi cried into her pillow. 


	12. #29 feature a character you haven't before

#29 feature a character you haven’t before

When Sara read the text from Yuzu, she knew exactly what to do! 

_ ‘Hey Sara! I need a dose of you right now! Send me the crack! Xoxox’- Yuzu _

As soon as her younger sister was out of the house to ensure the sanctity of her ambiance, Sara set up her special microphone with care. 

“Ok,” Sara, not quite whispering, did her best work with her lips right against the microphone. “Yuzu. You are the sun. You are a brave and in control big sister. The best. Your little sister adores you. You are a hero.” 

Sara started crinkling some bubble wrap against the microphone. Subtly. “That’s the sound of your little sister’s affection. You exude responsibility. The smartest most beautiful queen. And now, I will read your Leo horoscope.”

Sara, pulling out her horoscope kit, started to feel an itch in her nose so sudden and sharp she had no time to prepare for the mother of all sneezes snapping her head forward. She smacked her face right against the microphone, knocking it over. 

“AHG GAWD MOTHERFUCKER. SUNOVABISH! OW!! OWWWW-”


	13. #30 fairy tale

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> this particular one-shot is an UNOFFICIAL continuation of my series Studies With Wolves. I don't intend this scene to actually take place in the story!

“Hey Mei, what’s your favorite fairy tale?” 

Mei looked up from her brand new university textbook at the question. “Why do you ask?” 

Yuzu sat in the middle of her bed, various homework papers and books were strewn all around her in what she called ‘organized chaos’. To Mei it was obvious she was just procrastinating. The blonde shrugged, tapping her pencil against her knee. “Writing class. We have to examine fairy tales or something.”

Mei went back to her own reading. “I was never much for fairy tales.” 

She didn’t need wolf sense for her ears to pick up Yuzu’s distracted squirming, scrunching the edges of her assignments as she adjusted her position to better face Mei. “What about… little red riding hood?” Yuzu asked, a cheeky grin on her face. 

Mei narrowed her eyes. “Doesn’t the wolf get killed in that one?”

“Oh, right. Uhhh-” More shuffling. Mei continued pretending to read. “I’m sure there are more fairy tales with wolves in them!” 

“They don’t usually end well for the wolf,” Mei pointed out. 

“Then… we can rewrite the little red riding hood!” 

“Oh?”

“Yeah!” Yuzu sounded way too excited at such a mundane prospect. 

“That’s a shame. I rather like the part where the wolf eats little red riding hood,” Mei said with a straight face as she flipped a page in her textbook. She couldn’t help glancing up, an amused glint in her eyes to find Yuzu exactly the way she predicted. Red-faced and sputtering as her thoughts took Mei’s comment and ran a mile a minute with it. Mei set her book aside to deal with the situation appropriately.

Yuzu squealed happily when Mei pounced on her, sending a barrage of papers flying every which way without a care. “Oh, what big teeth you have!” Yuzu laughed as Mei nuzzled her face into her neck and inhaling, making the skin even more ticklish. Mei seemed to like that; smelling her. 

“My teeth are not big,” Mei grumbled self consciously. 

“No, you’re supposed to say, ‘the better to eat you with, my dear!’” 

Mei lifted her head. “I forget the details.” 

“That’s okay. We’re rewriting it anyway, remember?” Yuzu grinned happily up at her girlfriend. Affection pulled at Mei’s chest at the precious sight. 

“And what’s your favorite fairy tale?” Mei asked, brushing Yuzu’s fringe away from her eyes. 

“Hmm. Something that involves true love’s kiss, probably” Yuzu answered, her eyes on Mei’s lips proving she only ever had kissing Mei on her mind. Maybe true love’s kiss was a real thing after all, Mei considered as she leaned down for a soft afternoon indulgence.

Fairy tales usually don’t end well for the wolf, Mei had said. They were different, Yuzu believed. Their love story was one of the good ones with a happy ending. 

Yuzu was wearing a red hooded raincoat the day she wandered out of their apartment one rainy afternoon to search for Mei. She hadn’t returned with promised dinner at the usual time and Yuzu had gotten worried. Umbrella in hand, Yuzu went out into the rain with nothing but her believing heart to guide her. Spotting a small crowd forming over a bridge, Yuzu headed over to see what attracted people in this rainy weather. 

The umbrella fell from her hand when she saw her. 

Sanitation workers were struggling to pull a large limp animal carcass out of the water. The crowd gasped and took pictures of the rare sight of a large wolf in Japan. Black fur, once soft to the touch, was now matted with blood and feathers from a dead quail that floated downstream in the water. 

It was her. 

It was Mei they were dragging by the hind legs out of the river and towards a garbage truck on stand by.  With a cry and shaking legs, Yuzu launched towards it. 

The workers were startled when Yuzu threw herself at the truck, tears streaming down her face. They caught her midair. “_Wait! Wait, please! Stop, thats--!_” Two of the workers held her back, telling her to calm down as their partners tossed Mei’s body into the back of the truck like she wasn’t Yuzu’s most precious person. Her desperation to reach Mei grew the more she realized that the love of her life wasn't moving. Her amethyst eyes were still open but glassy, devoid of the deep emotion usually contained within Mei. Yuzu screamed for her to wake up and come back to her. She screamed as the truck’s insides swallowed the wolf away from sight and the sanitation workers awkwardly dropped Yuzu’s body when her legs turned to jelly. 

The rain poured even harder, weeping along with Yuzu as she dug her fingers into the mud and drowned out her wails. The part of her that believed in fairy tales cracked irreparably deep within her soul. 

One of the onlookers awkwardly approached her shaking form and held an umbrella over a little red riding hood, crying out for her wolf.


End file.
